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Managing the Commonwealth electoral roll

When you enrol to vote, your name and address is added to the 'electoral roll' – the list of people entitled to vote in an election.

If you are an Australian citizen aged 18 and over, you are required by law to keep your details on the electoral roll correct and up-to-date.

You only need to complete one enrolment form to enrol for federal, state and local government elections. The electoral roll is shared with the relevant state electoral commissions to ensure you can vote in all elections.

The electoral roll is not available for sale in any format. The AEC protects personal information on the electoral roll from being misused under the provisions of the Privacy Act 1988.

Additions, updates and removals

It is the responsibility of each individual eligible Australian to enrol and keep their enrolment details up to date. However, the AEC does receive data that can be used to remind people of their enrolment obligations and, in some cases, update the roll directly.

Enrolment actions that the AEC may take based on verified data that has been received includes adding someone to the roll, updating a person’s enrolment record or removing someone from the roll.

Data is received from a range of federal and state departments/agencies and may include an individual's surname, given name(s), date of birth, and address. Information is examined and matched against the electoral roll to identify people who may need an enrolment action to be taken.

Viewing the electoral roll

Under section 90A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, the right to access the electoral roll is integral to the conduct of free and fair elections as it allows participants to verify the openness and accountability of the electoral process.

The National Library of Australia in Canberra has available selected microfiche of the Commonwealth Electoral Rolls from 1901 to 2008. The library also holds a limited number of state electoral rolls on microfiche for the time prior to Federation.

A person (or their representative) who is registering a new political party or is nominating as an independent candidate for an election may attend an AEC office to check the enrolment details of their supporters.

This group of people can also use the online enrolment verification facility available on the AEC website.

Supply of elector information

Under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, the electoral roll (containing names and addresses) may be supplied to prescribed authorities, members of parliament, political parties, approved medical researchers, public health programs and electoral researchers.

The AEC does not provide your email address or phone number to these recipients.

See Also

The AEC acknowledges the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters, culture and community. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.